“Since fiscal year 2009 general salaries and wages have increased by 5.6 per cent and the Consumers Price Index has increased by 8 per cent. Parliamentary salaries . . . have increased by only 2.9 per cent. This still leaves members of Parliament receiving lower remuneration increases than the general population.“

When the Prime Minister, our very own Dear Leader, John Key was presented with the situation of rest home workers being paid an apalling figure of around $14.61 an hour, his response was,

“Travel is one of those areas where we are looking at what we can do,” he told TVNZ’s Breakfast programme.

However, the Government could not afford to give DHBs the $140 million required to enable rest homes to pay their staff more.

“It’s one of those things we’d love to do if we had the cash. As the country moves back to surplus it’s one of the areas we can look at but I think most people would accept this isn’t the time we have lots of extra cash.

“You could certainly change the proportion of where you spend money in health. We spend about $14.5 billion in the overall health sector.

“What’s going to go to pay the increase in this area? If you said all of the increase is going to go into this area, that would be roughly $600m over the forecast period which is four years… So that would have left us $1bn for other things.

“We put the money into cancer care and nursing and various other things. On balance, we think we got that about right.”

Interesting that there is plenty of tax-money for subsidising businesses; rugby world cup tournaments; politician’s salaries and perks – but when it comes to the lowest paid, hardest working, people in our society – Key’s response is; ” It’s one of those things we’d love to do if we had the cash “.

Yup. It’s La La Land.

Here’s a thought; why not link the minimum wage to that of Members of Parliament?

So when politicians get a pay increase – so do those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

In fact, let’s make it a point that any increase also applies to those earning minimum wages receiving similar perks to politicians; eg; travel and food subsidies, in the form of weekly vouchers for petrol, food, and electricity.

The lowest paid people in our society might actually start looking forward to salary and perks increases for our MPs and Ministers. And MPs would have a whole new fanclub.

When the National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre suggested that the “solution” to mass shootings in US schools was to arm teachers, the response of trhose with more common sense was one of (a) disbelief (b) dismay and (c) disgust. (See previous blogpost: NRA response; more guns. Common sense sez otherwise. )

And rightly so. Escalation of America’s internal arms race could not be viewed by any sane human being as anything other than compounding the madness that is part and parcel of their fixation on guns.

New Zealanders generally shook their collective heads at the sheer stupidity of Wayne LaPierre’s suggestion.

But it seems that we, ourselves, are not above knee-jerk reactions when it comes to crime, drunken mayhem, Police, etc.

As is usual now with the de-regulation of the booze industry and our laws on alcohol (courtesy of the “free market” and the Cult of the Individual), theend-of-year “festive season” now includes a routine plethora of out-of-control parties and public displays of alcohol-fuelled violence.

As if we should be surprised that the easy availability of cheap booze would have any other consequences?

This year was no different, with several instances of Police having to deal with alcohol-fueled fights and other public dis-order.

The intensity of the violence has taken a new turn, with Police themselves coming under direct attack.

That’s right, folks; one of the drunk partygoers had taken the constable’s taser and had tried to use it on the unconscious police officer.

The complexity of the weapon defeated the drunk idiot.

Now replace the taser with a handgun.

Instead of two bruised and battered police officers, we would have at least one – probably two – dead police; grieving families; and two more names to add to a sad list at the Police College of fallen policemen and women,

Our problem lies with the ubiquitous availability of dirt-cheap booze; a gutless National “government” that has kowtowed to the liquor industry; and an attitude in this country that alcohol abuse is someone elses’ problem.

Anyone who seriously thinks that giving guns to police will solve this deep malaise in our society has probably had one too many.

On the second day of Christmas, My country gave to me: A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the third day of Christmas, My country gave to me: No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the fourth day of Christmas, My country gave to me: Much cleaner rivers, No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the fifth day of Christmas, My country gave to me: Lots more jobs, less bene-bashing! Much cleaner rivers, No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the sixth day of Christmas, My country gave to me: An end to fracking ‘n’ deep-sea drilling, Lots more jobs, less bene-bashing! Much cleaner rivers, No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the seventh day of Christmas, My country gave to me: A raise in minimum wages, An end to fracking ‘n’ deep-sea drilling, Lots more jobs, less bene-bashing! Much cleaner rivers, No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the eighth day of Christmas, My country gave to me: Less spent on roads, more on public transport, A raise in minimum wages, An end to fracking ‘n’ deep-sea drilling, Lots more jobs, less bene-bashing! Much cleaner rivers, No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the ninth day of Christmas, My country gave to me: No secret free trade ‘deals’ Less spent on roads, more on public transport, A raise in minimum wages, An end to fracking ‘n’ deep-sea drilling, Lots more jobs, less bene-bashing! Much cleaner rivers, No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the tenth day of Christmas, My country gave to me: Free school meals for our kiddies. No secret free trade ‘deals’ Less spent on roads, more on public transport, A raise in minimum wages, An end to fracking ‘n’ deep-sea drilling, Lots more jobs, less bene-bashing! Much cleaner rivers, No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the eleventh day of Christmas, My country gave to me: Fully funded free healthcare, Free school meals for our kiddies. No secret free trade ‘deals’ Less spent on roads, more on public transport, A raise in minimum wages, An end to fracking ‘n’ deep-sea drilling, Lots more jobs, less bene-bashing! Much cleaner rivers, No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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On the twelth day of Christmas, My country gave to me: Real free education, Fully funded free healthcare, Free school meals for our kiddies. No secret free trade ‘deals’ Less spent on roads, more on public transport, A raise in minimum wages, An end to fracking ‘n’ deep-sea drilling, Lots more jobs, less bene-bashing! Much cleaner rivers, No state asset sales, A new public service TV and a PM we can all respect!

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… and of course, there is much, much more. But these will do for starters.

Thank you to everyone who has taken time to read my scribblings and to share their thoughts, by leaving comments. From this blogger and his family, we wish everyone a happy Christmas; time to catch up with loved ones; and a safe and even better New Year.

But at the same time, New Zealanders love their tax-payer funded social services. Whether it be free hospitals; highly-subsidised medicines, nearly-free education; free roading, etc. Quite simply, we like the “goodies” that are expected of a developed, First World nation.

What we don’t like are governments that attempt to tinker with, and cut-back, on our state-provided social services.

Which is where Miniaster of Education, Hekia Parata, has gone disastrously wrong.

Her first “crime” was the announced – discovered, more like – policy just after the Budget was released on 24 May. It did not take long before a cunning plan for teacher cuts and larger class sizes, buried deep within the Budget, was uncovered,

This was pure, unadulterated, and re-cycled National Party policy from the 1990s. Who remembers National’s attempt in 1991, to implement a User-Pays charge of $50 per day in hospitals, up to a maximum of ten days? (See: Teara – Funding public hospitals) The policy was hugely unpopular and failed because New Zealanders simply refused to pay it.

The classroom-teacher debacle was the first of several major crises (I refuse to call them “issues”) to confront Hekia Parata and her Ministry.

Others included,

the ongoing Novopay fiasco

the enforced amalgamation/closures of 30+ Christchurch schools, using data that was discovered to be hopelessly wrong,

the attempt to force closure of Salisbury School, which would have placed special-needs female students in a male school, and making them potential victims of sexual abuse (See: Parata did not heed warning over closure),

Ministry of Education suggestions that misleading information be given in respect to Official Information Act requests about Christchurch school closures. (See: Education ministry criticism ‘serious‘)

It seems fairly clear that Parata has wilfully ignored the advice of her own officials and failed to consult with parents, teachers, and others in local communities. The result has been a growing dillusionment and enmity between Parata and her constituents.

The problems became so great; coming one after another in over-lapping succession; and seemingly increasing in intensity, that Parata eventually ceased to front up to the media.

Instead, it was left to bureacrat, Education Secretary Lesley Longstone, to answer for the Education Minister,

Education Minister Hekia Parata declined an interview with Campbell Live last night. Instead, the ministry’s chief executive Lesley Longstone fronted, and admitted mistakes had been made – though defended the ministry’s processes.

Hekia Parata could no longer answer to the public without appearing to be hopelessly ineffective in her own portfolio.

As a Minister, she seemed utterly out of her depth and this blogger strongly suspects that she has been given instructions from on high (Steven Joyce?) to steer clear of the media.

The untreated human effluent finally hit the fan when Ms Longstone became the “patsy”, falling on Parata’s sword as a political sacrificial ewe. Only about thirteen months into a five year contract, Ms Longstone is leaving New Zealand with her tail firmly between her legs. (See: Education Secretary Lesley Longstone resigns )

One doubts she will be in a hurry to return, even to savour the delights of the touristy-destination of “Middle Earth New Zealand”.

During this crisis, Parata was again nowhere to be seen. The resignation and resultant media conference was handled by State Services Commissioner, Iain Rennie (along with a blond “Minder”, wearing copious quantities of red lippy, standing anxiously in the background),

Parata has stuffed up at least half a dozen critical problems impacting on her ministerial portfolio,

She has succeeded in alienating almost all her constituents,

When she could no longer function effectively as a Minister, nor field media queries, she dumped the whole stinking mess into Longstone’s lap,

The entangled mess of problems were such that Ms Longstone was unable to cope. Her overseas background and lack of knowledge of New Zealand society and politics was probably one of her greatest handicaps,

Longstone finally had a gutsful and bailed. (And who on Earth could possibly blame her?!)

And Parata was still nowhere to be seen – instead dumping the mess into yet another lap; Iain Rennie.

Considering that Ms Longstone’s resignation was known in advance – with State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie confirming Longstone resignation was made two to three weeks ago – it defies belief that Key was goofing around on radio stations that morning.

It occurs to this blogger that John Key no longer wants the highest job in the land. We saw a hint of this earlier in the year, in May, when he told children at Holy Family School in Porirua East,

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And of course we had the recent extraordinary spectacle of Canadian ex-Supreme Court Judge, Ian Binnie, being publicly derided and humiliated by Justice Minister Judith Collins – despite Justice Binnie being invited by National to oversee an indepent review of the Bain case (See: Bain could have an enemy in the Beehive).

At this rate, the most highly skilled and experienced professionals and civil servants will think twice before coming to New Zealand to take up government contracts. Like some evil Master Mind in a James Bond story,

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“National does not tolerate failure, Ms Longstone. Would you like a Speights or water with your Professional Cyanide Pill?”

“If we truly cherish our kids, more than money, more than our celebrities, we must must give them the greatest level of protection possible and the security that is only available with a properly trained – armed – good guy.”

If a minimum of one private, full time, guard was placed in every institution, at a median cost of US$28,834 per person, (see: Salary.com: security guards) the full would be an astronomical US$4,005, 763,450 per annum. Many institutions because of their size would need two, or more guards.

Considering Republican’s (who are allied to the NRA) lack of appetite for increasing taxes, it is hard to see where the money would come from.

No wonder that there was protest at Wayne LaPierre’s speech yesterday,

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It is highly doubtful that arming teachers or hiring security guards would achieve anything. Being the United States, how long would it be before the first mentally disturbed security guard or teacher pulled out his/her legally-sanctioned gun and started blasting away at the people they were mandated to protect?

Or, the guard was simply in another part of the school grounds?

Or, more likely, was the first victim of any deranged shooter?

Only in the US would one countenance the totally lunatic proposal that more guns equates to more safety. This is the United States; a culture where guns are revered in their entertainment value as the solution to complex problems. Mass murder can even be made to look cool, with cool clothing, cool sunnies, and cool background music. Killing becomes a fashion-statement – in the US, anyway,

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Is that how mass-murderers see themselves?

Meanwhile, Wayne LaPierre’s suggestion fall flat on it’s distorted face when it is pointed out that Columbine High School did indeed have an armed guard on duty; Sheriff’s deputy, Neil Gardner.

On 20 April 1999, despite Mr Gardner’s presence, twelve students and one teacher were gunned down by two deranged students.

The NRA are not the solution – they are intrinsically part of the problem.

“Yeah, National is not going to be raising GST. National wants to cut taxes, not raise taxes…What I’m saying is if we do a half decent job as a government at growing our economy I’m confident that won’t be happening and that’s not on our agenda.”

This, however, does not surprise me. Since the Muldoon Era, I have realised that National’s so-called reputation for being “prudent fiscal managers” is a myth. Most likely perpetrated and perpetuated by National’s taxpayer funded spin doctors.

National is no more “fiscally prudent” than a shopaholic who justifies his/her spend-up by explaining that ” Isaved heaps – it was all on “Sale” – And I put it on the Card !!”

When Key and his cronies promised us tax cuts in 2008, it was well into the Global Financial Crisis (see: Blog Timeline – specifically Year 2008). The Nats knew full well that tax cuts were unaffordable.